British Universities Film & Video Council

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Mark Rylance

Synopsis
Television interview with actor and first artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Mark Rylance, about his life and career, especially his relationship with Shakespeare and his controversial ideas about Shakespeare’s authorship.

Rylance speaks of how his father helped him appreciate Shakespeare by regarding the plays as stories to be told. He comments on his aversion to director-led Shakespeare during his time at the RSC in the 1980s where actors had little or no interpretative input. On the authorship question Rylance says he is ready to step away having lost faith with Shakespeare academia whose recent responses to the issue [triggered by the release of ANONYMOUS] he finds ‘shameful’ and ‘repressive’. He feels that even Stratfordians would find there are many benefits to be gained from ‘doubting’. He is critical of the critics who he feels made no effort to understand what he was trying to achieve and explore with his all-male casting of plays at the Globe. Finally he reflects on what he might have done had he not become an actor and makes a persuasive case for the opportunities for contemplation and observance to be found in the socially useful job of street cleaning.
Series
Mark Lawson Talks to ...
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Television
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Transmission details
15 Apr 2012 at 22:35 (Channel: BBC4)
Duration
60 mins

Credits

Director
Anya Saunders
Producer
Anya Saunders
Contributor
Mark Lawson; Mark Rylance

Additional Details

Production type
Documentary/Educational/News
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
gender representation; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Authorship; All-male casts; Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

Notes

General
"After leaving RADA in 1980, Rylance quickly established himself as a classical actor through major roles at the RSC. Frustrated with so called ‘director’s theatre’ which left him feeling as powerless as ‘a waiter’, Rylance left the RSC in 1983 to set up his own actor-led production companies. He was the first artistic director of the Globe, where he worked from 1995 to 2005." (BBC programme information).

Production Company

Name

BBC Productions

Archive

Name

BFI National Archive

Web
http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7255 1444
Fax
020 7436 0165
Address
21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN
Name

BoB

Email
bob@learningonscreen.ac.uk
Web
https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand External site opens in new window
Phone
020 3743 2345
Address
Learning on Screen - the British Universities and Colleges Film and Video Council
330 Holborn Gate
1st Floor, Suite 120
London
WC1V 7QH
Notes
Formerly a service from BUFVC, British Universities Film & Video Council
Name

Learning on Screen Off-Air Recording Back-up Service

Email
services@bufvc.ac.uk
Web
http://bufvc.ac.uk/tvandradio/offair External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7393 1514
Fax
020 7393 1555
Address
For Learning on Screen Members only
77 Wells Street
London
W1T 3QJ

Record Stats

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